trauma

"Some people's lives seem to flow in a narrative; mine had many stops and starts. That's what TRAUMA does. It interrupts the plot. You can't process it because it doesn't fit with what came before or what comes afterwards." -Jessica Stern (Guggenheim Fellowship winner for her work on trauma and violence)

Has your life's plot been interrupted by trauma? Were you involved in an unexpected accident that steals your physical abilities. Could you have been the random victim of a violent attack? Was it the sudden, heart-breaking loss of a loved one? By chance, did you get a diagnosis from your doctor that includes the word, terminal? Were you the recipient of abuse? The list can go on and on, but sometimes it is the senseless things of life that are the most difficult to handle. How do others rise above the trauma? Find out.

Caitlin "Never alone, Never afraid"

Have you ever just wanted to give up in the face of fear, pain, loss and hopelessness? Caitlin has faced many battles in her life and is still fighting to get off the streets, to live a full life, to provide for her kids, to bring hope to others..even in the midst of the struggles she is facing and the pain she has endured, she refuses to let fear run her life.

Lindsey's Story "You Are Stonger Than You Think"

I lived what most would describe as a normal life. Until I didn't. On August 10, 2013 my life changed forever. While on vacation, I was in a tragic accident where I was run over by a boat and “danced with the propeller.” These injuries left me with an amputated left leg, severely injured right leg, and lacerated right arm. In a matter of seconds, a freak accident changed my life forever.

Shaelyn's Story "Warrior"

When I was driving through Pryor, Oklahoma I was in a horrific accident involving a semi truck. We came to a stop light, I was northbound, he was southbound, he made a left hand turn in front of me, I didn't have time to stop. I essentially t-boned the back of his trailer and drove up under it. The trailer ripped the roof off of my car and my car was stuck under the semi.The truck kept driving for a while, dragging my sideways car with him. When my car finally did come out from under the truck, it flipped several times, landed upside down, and slid about 100 yards. I was strapped into the driver's seat the whole time.

Beth's Story "Perfectly Imperfect"

I learned later that during trauma, the soul could leave the body so as not to experience the worst of what is happening. This is what I did all those years ago and would continue to do for a good part of my life when times were tough and I needed to keep a smile on my face. I became a lie and believed a lie: my family is perfect I would tell anyone who would listen.

Tabitha and Yvonne's Story "His Miracles...Our Miracle"

Tabitha was coming home from bowling with her boyfriend and another friend, around 1:45 a.m. A drunk driver ran a red light and t-boned her car. Tabitha was in the passenger seat and took the full force of the impact. She never saw it coming. The impact was so forceful that it threw the car across the intersection and down into a drainage ditch, about a 12-foot drop landing on the driver’s side. The car was so mangled that all three of them had to be cut out with the jaws of life.

Anna's Story "Just Less Orderly"

Drew died on a Wednesday. I was driving when my Mom called and told me to pull over. Her voice was low and hard, and I just knew that something terrible had happened. She was confused, and she said that she thought Drew was dead. I made the longest drive of my life to her apartment, which was only a few miles away. When I got to her home, there were police everywhere, and at that point I knew that he was gone.

Katie's Story "Make You Feel My Love"

It couldn’t be true. It must be wrong. She didn’t have confirmation. I tried to calm her, to tell her we didn’t know anything for sure. I walked into the kitchen, as far as I could get from my own children’s bedrooms. I will always remember the conversation. I will always remember my sister saying, “he’s here,” and I will always remember hearing the sound of the police officer at my mother’s door, saying, “Ma’am, I regret to inform you…” And I will always remember how I sank into the cold tile of my own kitchen floor and felt my heart bleed from my chest. The sounds I made were indistinguishable.

Erin's Story "Broken Yet Gracious"

I was in shock, knowing what was happening but not being able to process it. With tears in his eyes he said "I’m sorry but we have lost her." I desperately asked if they were sure there was no heartbeat, and the tech solemnly nodded yes.

Amber's Story "Be Kind"

Grace's Story

"My spinal injury was caused not only by the head injury, but from years of compiled injuries. After three hours of surgery, my parents were told I would likely never walk again. At 14-years-old, over the course of a single evening, I changed from a tri-season athlete to a quadriplegic."

MADI'S STORY "A NEW NORMAL"

"I remember sitting there trying to give Madi an injection for the first time and my hand was shaking-- I just couldn’t do it. I remember hearing Madi’s little voice just saying ‘It's okay, Mamma, It didn’t hurt very much...She has to check her blood sugar every couple of hours, and administer a minimum of four injections every day to avoid a comma or other serious complications."